I purchased the pictured items myself. I was not asked to write, nor was I compensated for this post, and all opinions are my own. Post contains affiliate links. After 5 1/2 years of cloth diapering, I finally tried a diaper sprayer. Most families feel a splatter shield is a must-have when you have a sprayer so I thought it would be interesting to compare them! Splatter shields aren’t new. Back in 2009 when I was deciding what to do when my son started solids, I found the Potty Pail, though today’s splatter shields are even more sophisticated. Today I’m comparing the Spray Pal, Diaper Diamond and Diaper Dawgs Spray Collar.

The Spray Pal was brought to the market in 2011 after the creator made prototypes for his own use and everyone who saw it asked where they could buy one! It’s the first splatter shield I recall seeing other than Potty Pail and it seems to have changed diaper spraying as the world knew it. The Spray Pal is smaller than I expected though I’m sure someone else would say “oh, it’s bigger than I expected!”

Though I find it pretty intuitive to use, it came with cute illustrated instructions.

Spray Pal measures about 10″ x 16″ when folded up, and it has a snap to keep it secure while stored.

Three snaps hold it in the open/ready to use position.

I purchased the newest version, which has a more generously sized clip than the prior version. It’s easy to clip a diaper in before or after you snap it to the open position. I like being able to grab the pocket lining in the clip also, so I don’t accidentally spray a bunch of water inside the pocket.

It is designed to allow you to squeeze excess water out of a diaper. That means whether you are using hybrids, AIOs, pockets, prefolds or just rinsing a night time diaper, you don’t have to put saturated diapers in your pail, nor touch them with your bare hands. I keep my pail in the laundry room, so I can squeeze the diaper, then carry the whole shebang to my hanging wet bag/pail without drips. Position the Spray Pal over the bag and squeeze the clip to drop the diaper in (no touching necessary). Spray Pal fits perfectly behind my toilet as well as in a medium wet bag. If you have a very tight space behind and beside your toilet and there’s no room for it due to the clip, you can hang it on your doorknob after sliding it into a wet bag. Spray Pal is made in the U.S.A. and retails for $24.99.

The Spray collar attaches to your diaper sprayer and doesn’t need to be removed between uses. It was introduced about a year ago and was a fresh take on the splatter shield. My sprayer is a qdSpray sink style sprayer so the collar fits a bit differently.

I like the idea of having this ready to go on your sprayer each time and not having something assemble, but I did find there was a learning curve. You have to hold it close to the diaper to avoid splatter, so you are spraying rather blindly. If you lift to peek, you make a mess. I think this would work well if you have a powerful sprayer but it did not work for us since my spray is rather weak and I have to get the nozzle very close to the diaper. If you use pocket diapers, I recommend pulling the inserts out before spraying so you don’t have to squeeze out excess water by hand. This is a great choice for someone looking for the quickest splatter solution or with zero storage space, who has a diaper pail or wet bag nearby to drop the drippy diaper in. The spray collar is made in China and is the most affordable of the three at $14.95.

Diaper Diamond is shaped differently than the Spray Pal (and the plastic is gray) but it is very similar. Although it’s brand new to me, the patent was filed in July 2010/Approved May 2013 (though the product for which a patent was approved looks vastly different than the one that is on the market – click through to see description, illustration & claims of clamping to the toilet, using 4 clips, base, funnel, magnetic doors etc.) Their about page says after 13 prototypes they started pursuing a patent in June 2009 but it was nearly 6 years later (February 2015) before manufacturing was finished.

Also from Diaper Diamond’s “about” page: “Since Bernadette started this process several products have come on the market that also combat the messy diaper sprayer issue. She didn’t learn of these until after her patent was issued. With all of the passion, effort, and investment already put forth she decided that her product still had features that others didn’t so she kept moving forward. Just as there are tons of succesful cloth diaper brands out there she felt there could be different brands of diaper sprayer containment contraptions.”

It folds completely flat and if you noticed the hole, that is so you can hang it on a hook behind your toilet.

Two snaps secure it in the open/ready to use position. Its tapered shape doesn’t allow it to stand up on its own, which was annoying to photograph. 😉 The front scoops down a bit giving you a bit less splatter shielding in my opinion but was intended to allow easier access to the diaper.

Diaper Diamond is about 15″ tall on the longest side (where the diapers attach), and about 18 3/8″ wide at its widest and 10 1/8″ at its narrowest when flattened.

Rather than using a clip, diapers attach to the Diaper Diamond via slits in the plastic.

I found myself always putting the diaper too high in my attempts to get it in securely without handling soiled areas. The 4 slits allow you to stretch the diaper taut. Even with my lower powered sprayer I don’t find it necessary, but if you’ve always wished you could hold the diaper taut while spraying, that’s something to consider.

The Diaper Diamond folds completely flat to fit in narrow spaces but it does not fit in a medium wet bag while flat. If you wanted to store it in one to avoid drips, you’d have to use a much larger bag, or store it assembled. If your diaper pail is in the bathroom you can release the diaper from the lower tabs, hold it over the pail, then release the upper tabs to drop it in the pail. I need more practice to get the diaper out of the tabs without touching drippy diaper parts. One answer might be to only hook the top two tabs. (Edit: Diaper Diamond has a new how-to video where the shield is put into the wet bag and the tabs are removed through the wet bag so that’s one idea. She also slides the diaper into the tabs & presses down vs trying to stretch them into the slots like I was. Lastly, her new blog post has additional tips & photos that weren’t available when I wrote this and one is that the lower tabs may not be necessary with diapers that lie pretty flat on their own.)

While I seem to keep hooking the diaper a bit high, it does sit higher in general than it would in the Spray Pal. This means that you might have to choose which way to put the diaper in, depending if it’s more soiled in front or in back. I clipped one in with the back at the top and splashed a bit trying to get the area near the top. If you have a front-to-back pooper you’ll have to pay close attention to how you aim and also consider placement of the pocket and/or pocket flap (if you’re spraying a pocket diaper) to avoid catching water. Like the Diaper Dawgs collar, you’ll likely want to pull inserts out of pockets before spraying and squeeze any others before putting them in your wet bag. Diaper Diamond is made in China and retails for $23.95. (Initially appears cheaper on Amazon at $19.95 however, the shipping charge was $6 when I looked).

Last, but not least, a video demo of each sprayer. Sorry (or you’re welcome?) there’s no poop.

The common theme is that your splatter shield is your BFF since a dog is man’s best friend, diamonds are a girl’s best friend, and well, a pal is everyone’s buddy, right? 😉 So, have you guessed which I prefer? Luckily, there’s something for everyone depending on what your preferences are for use and storage, but for me, I prefer the Spray Pal. It’s about $1 more than the Diaper Diamond, but it’s made in the USA and it’s fast and easy to clip a diaper in. I can squeeze out excess water, carry the diaper to the pail without dripping and I don’t have to touch the wet diaper at all. I feel it gives me the best splatter coverage and room to work with my lower pressure sprayer (and deal with an all-over-the-diaper pooper), plus its size is perfect for my storage preference (in a wet bag, behind my toilet). I think if I had a traditional sprayer I’d perhaps like the spray collar a bit more than I do now, though I like that I don’t have to actually hold the diaper with the other two.

Have you tried a splatter shield (or three)? What did you like about it? What didn’t you like? Which would you like to try?

Maria is the mother of 3, writing about cloth diapers & going green. You'll often find her juggling her preschooler and typing 1-handed in between sips of cold coffee.
Maria works with many companies within the cloth diaper industry and beyond, providing social media management, product development and other services.

Love the write up Maria! Dealing with poop can be a hurdle for families when deciding to cloth diaper so anything to make it easier is great.

Regarding the patent….there always have been and always will be people who live to stir up drama regarding patents. If those people spent as much time growing their companies and building good, solid relationships instead of sabatoging others, they could probably be quite successful. Sadly, that isn’t the case here.

I’m sorry to see negativity and so much concern surrounding the patent of my product, Diaper Diamond. I just wanted to clarify a few things regarding some of the comments. I’m really just a mom that was sick of dealing with the mess of my diaper sprayer. I looked for a product to help with this and came up short so I started coming up with different ideas and prototypes to help with the problem. Some of my cloth diapering friends were having the same issues so I wanted to bring something to market that could help make cloth diapering easier for all of us. My husband, although not typically a risk taker, supported my idea and we hired a company to do a patent and marketing. This was an investment for our family but we believed that there really was a need in the marketplace for this idea and that it would help make cloth diapering more appealing to parents. The marketing was to try to find a company interested in partnering with us in the production. The whole process took a lot longer than I anticipated. My patent issued in 2013 and at the same time the marketing contract had ended. They were not successful in finding a company interested in this idea so I was on my own. Some of the feedback along the way was that the design was too complex for manufacturing so I had been working over those few years on other more simple designs. Although the drawings on my patent look different than the product itself, we had taken action before the patent was issued to make changes to the claims to cover my updated designs. I didn’t come across Spray Pal until after the patent was issued. I decided to move forward with production of Diaper Diamond because I felt that I had put so much hard work, time, and money into this idea that I didn’t want all of that to go to waste. I also wanted to set a good example for my children that you can achieve anything that you put your mind to. I still believe that my product is different for the fact that it pulls the elastic taut. This was always one of my issues and I’m happy that I can help other parents out there that are dealing with this same issue. As far as discussing patent infringement I’m not sure why that really is anyone else’s business or why others care. I can honestly say I’ve never once questioned a product’s patent before buying it. I believe that Mr. and Mrs. Aprea are parents that were dealing with similar cloth diapering issues and just like me, decided to do something about it. I recognize that they have built a great company and have contributed in a positive way to the cloth diapering business. I hope people can see my passion for cloth diapering and recognize that my goal is to help make the not so fun job of rinsing a dirty diaper a little easier.
Sincerely,
Bernadette Drew
Diaper Diamond

Thank you for your thoughtful reply. I wanted to address why I even mentioned the patent in my post. The cloth diaper crowd can be a passionate bunch and I anticipated questions about whether one was a “knockoff” of another. I was surprised to see that Diaper Diamond had been in the works for so long and was interested to read the timeline on your about page. I mentioned the differences on your patent to stave off thoughts that Spray Pal somehow knew about your product and copied it.

I love this comparison.
I currently have a Spray Pal which I absolutely love. I was contemplating on a diaper dawg to keep at the grandparents house since it would be rarely used but I think I’ll just invest in another Spray Pal. I love that it is made in the USA, easy to store and most of all, the customer service.

I have been looking for one of these comparisons. I just happened across the Diaper Diamond the other day and was kind of shocked at how similar it was to the Spray Pal. Now that I have seen this review and watched the video you mentioned I’m even more happy with my decision in Spray Pal.

I don’t even mind having spent a few extra bucks to buy made in the USA.

Maria, I love love your reviews and your hard work that you do. You’re seriously awesome.

I have several cloth diaper patents, so I have been around the block “per se” when it comes to patents. I feel like I can sort of make out the difficult patent language, sometimes hahah.

I read Diamond’s Patent and read this …..
“A device for assisting in the cleaning of reusable cloth diapers comprises a molded plastic frame which rests on an interior perimeter of a toilet bowl. The frame comprises a universal design such that it fits on both round and oval bowls. A plurality of adjustable spring clips holds and supports the soiled diaper in a taut and stretched configuration. With the device and diaper in place, the diaper may be rinsed off. When finished, the toilet is flushed and the device is removed, folded, and stored in a supplied storage case.”

I felt like I was reading a description of the Spray Pal….. It seems to me as a layman’s opinion, this could spell trouble for Spray Pal. In an industry like ours, its important to do your research before bringing a product to market, it looks like someone didn’t do their due diligence.

Hi Stacee,
Thank you for bringing this up. We actually did our due diligence prior to applying for our patent on Spray Pal in 2011. In fact, we were completely unaware of Ms. Drew’s patent until after it was approved in 2013, at which time her patent attorney sent our patent attorney a letter stating:

1) “As background, on July 19, 2010 MP&D prepared and filed a Patent Application for Inventor Drew’s Diaper cleaning device that ultimately issued as a utility patent, No. 8,434,173 on May 7, 2013. Even though it seems you have not submitted an IDS for the Aprea’s application, if you had searched it would be unlikely that you would be aware of Ms. Drew’s application as it was issued without having been published first.”

and 2) “At this point, your clients should not be concerned that an infringement lawsuit is imminent against them or their company.”

With your knowledge of patents, that should clear up any misconception that we could have possible known about or stolen an idea from anyone else. Also, the fact that they are clearly not claiming an infringement on our product shows that the Spray Pal is completely different than the apparatus for rinsing diapers that she has patented. Since then, her design has completely changed from what is depicted in her patent even though she is still claiming the patent number on it.

As a mutual member of this industry which we all know can stir up plenty of drama if we let it, I was hoping to let this all just sort of slide under the radar, but since you are trying to call us out as someone who “did not do their due diligence” I feel like it needs to be brought to light, unfortunately. With all due respect, of course. 🙂

Can you re-read her comment please?
They aren’t just being selfless and kind.
Spray Pal didn’t infringe on anything, therefore, no leg to stand on for a lawsuit.

You were wrong in your assessment and Jen presented factual information as to why. Just admit that.

Stacee

May 13, 2015 at 6:09 pm

I read that they atmitted she couldn’t have known about it and they didn’t intend to sue. It’s up to the patent owner to to protect their patent. I really couldn’t determine patent infringement as only a judge could do that, it’s up to the patent owner to decide how and when to protect their parents. As I don’t want to clog up Maria’s page feel free to give me a call or email if you want to discuss further.

So maybe sp is not patent-pending anymore because of this? or are they? i think its neatand funny seeing all these things for poop! sorry though, they are very similar in look and use, just without a clip to erase another piece as an improvment maybe? Patents are tons of moola, its a shame to spend that much on idea protection and not actually protect it, lol…silly diamond, lucky sp. Dd seams cool though.

Your review is great! I do have to say that the spray collar is much better with a traditional sprayer. It’s nice to just position the collar and then spray from top to bottom. There are also the Diaper dawgs that you can hold your diaper with so if you really don’t want to touch the diaper you don’t have to. I had a spray pal for awhile, I would have liked it better if I had a bigger bathroom. I literally had no place to put it. So it hung out in our bathtub while not in use.

I just realized I misread your comment so I am editing my reply. Spray Pal definitely did not rip off the DD. If you click through the DD patent, the drawings and claims are nothing like the product they are selling now, which bears a strong resemblance to the Spray Pal.

I was SO EXCITED to see this review! I’ve never heard of the Diaper Diamond but I’ve been hoping for a Spray Pal/Spray Collar comparison post since the products first came out. Thank you so much for this! (PS – I wanted to select “notify me of follow up comments” but there’s no check box by the words? Maybe I’m just missing something . . . )

Maria wants to live in a world where cloth diapers are the norm and moms can make parenting choices without judgement. When she’s not chasing her 12, 8 and 5 year old kids around, you might find her checking out the latest gadgets, organizing something (again) or exercising in the fresh air. Read More »